Nest for poultry.



(Application led June 20, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I (jupV Model.)

No. 652,2". n

J. w. HAYs.

NEST FUR POULTRY.

(Applicati'n fnled June 20, 1899.) (No Model.)

Patented rune I9, |900.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNrTED STATES PATENT Ormea..

.TOI-IN lV. IIAYS, OF OKLAHOMA, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, ASSIGNOR OFTIlREE-FOURTIIS TO J. Il. MARKVELI. AND XVALIJAOE MARKVELL,

or SAME PLACE.

NEST FOR POULTRY.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters atent No. 652,21 1, dated June 19,1900.

Application filed June 20,1899. Serial No. 721,235. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom, it 7mo/y concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN 1V. HAYs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oklahoma city, in the county of Oklahoma, Okla-v homaTerritory, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nestsfor Poultry; and I do hereby .declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of thc invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has relation to nests for poultry, and has for itsobjects to prevent a sitting hen being interfered with by other hens;to'obviate the breaking of the eggs by two hens getting upon the nest atthe same time; to preclude forming the habit of eggeating by thepoultry, due, primarily, to the breaking of the eggs throughinterference;`

to enable a sitting hen to seclude herself when required, and, nally, toinsure cleanliness.

Other objects and advantages result from the special formation of thecontrivance and will suggest themselves to persons versed in the cultureof poultry as the details of the invention are fully comprehended andunderstood.

For a full description of the invention and 4the merits thereof and alsoto acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means foreffecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and the drawings hereto attached. A

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention arenecessarily suscep- Fig. 2 is a view of the device inverted. Fig;

3 is an elevation, the near side being omitted and the top door open.Fig. 4 is a longitudi- Vnal section on the line X X of Fig. 2, showingthe relation of the parts when the front` door is closed. Fig. 5 is adetail perspective View of the nest and its arm. Fig. 6 is a det-ailView of the tilting platform and. weight-box.

form of a house or coop, the inclosing sides or walls being composed ofslats which are spaced apart for the purpose of ventilation and theadmission of light, besides providing a structure easily portable'andreadily accessible for the purpose of inspection and cleaning. Theframework or coop lis provided in its front end with a door-opening 2and in its top side with an opening closed by a door 3, which is hingedto swing upwardly and forwardly at'its free end. This door is located atthe rear end of the coop and di rectly over the nest and serves thedouble purpose of protecting said nest from rain and admitting of accessto the nest for the removal of the eggs laid therein.

The nest 4 is a shallow tray having its front and rear walls upwardlydivergent and is of a length to extend from one side wall of the coop tothe other without touching either. An arm 5 is secured centrally to thebottomof the nest -i and extends forwardly, its front end being reduced,as shown at G, and passing through an opening 7 in a cross-Slat of thecoop below the door-opening 2. A pin or key 8 passes throughtheprojecting terminal of the reduced endG and prevents rearwarddisplacement of the arm. vThe shoulder at the base of the reduced end 6engages with the inner side of the said cross-Slat and the pin 8 comesin contact with the front side of said slat and the two jointly preventlongitudinal movement of the arm and nest.

The tilting platform 9 is located in advance of the nest and issupported by means of longitudinally-disposed sills l0, securedintermediate of their ends to a cross-beam 1 1, having its' end portionsreduced and forming journals,which obtain bearings in notches 12, formedin the upper edge of transverselyalining side slats. The longitudinalsills have the lower edges of their front portions curving upwardly andforwardly,whereby the front ends of said sills are tapering, and therear portions of said sills are reduced, forml ing arms 13, which extendbeneath the nest 4 upon opposite sides of the arm 5 and terminate inrests 14, disposed to engage with the beam of the nest on a line aboutmidway between the front and rear walls thereof. The rests 14 arehalf-round projections,which have a rocking engagement with the nest,due to the tilting of the sills 10 in the operation of the device. Thevertical shoulders 15, formed at the bases of the arms 13, receive thecrossbeam 11, which is secured thereto. rThe platform 9 is approximatelyof wedge form and is disposed with its smaller end facing thedoor-opening 2, the wider end being attached to the top edge of thecross-beam 11, which is in the plane of the upper edges of the forwardportions of the longitudinal sills 10. The platform 9 constitutes anapproach to the nest and is weighted so as to normally hold the nestelevated and the door 16 open or depressed.

A box 17 is applied to the front end of the tilting platform and isadapted to receive weights 18 for counterbalancing the nest and the eggslaid therein, so as to hold the door 16 in such aposition as to uncoverthe opening 2. This boX is formed of triangularshaped side pieces 19, afront wall constituting the door 16, and a sectional top 20, the

front section being removable, so as to admit of access to the box forplacing additional weights therein or removing some of the weightstherefrom.A The side pieces 19 brace the front wall or door 16 andsupport the top 20, which constitutes an approach to the nest.

The door or front wall 16 inclines upwardly and forwardly and is adaptedto prevent ingress through the door-opening 2 when the nest is depressedby the weight of the hen` perched thereon.

The parts are disposed so as to be readilyv removed for the purpose ofcleaning or making repairs. Upon withdrawing the pin or key 8 from thereduced end 6 of the arm-5 the nest can be lifted through the topopening closed by the door 3. The tilting platform can likewise bereadily removed, since the,y

journals of the crossbeam 11 rest in open bearings 12. The parts can beeasily placed in position by an operation the reverse of that practicedin their removal.

When the device is in working order and prime condition, the nest iselevated and the entrance end of the approach depressed. When a henpasses through the dooropening 2 and perches upon the nest, the latteris depressed and the door 16 correspondingly elevated, thereby closingthe door-opening 2 and preventing another hen from entering the coop orstructure. As the hen leaves the nest and s teps upon the platform 9 thelatter will descend and uncover the door-opening 2 and permit the hen tohave free exit. At the same time that the front end of the platformlowers the nest will correspondingly rise, thereby setting the devicefor the next hen, as will be readily understood. The eggs are removedfrom the nest through the opening closed by the door 3, as previouslystated.

It sometimes happens that a sitting hen will not remain upon the nest atthe beginning of the hatching operation, and in order to prevent exitthe door is fastened when the hen is on the nest, a hook a and an eye bbeing provided for the purpose. The weightbox is utilized for thereception of feed and drink. After the hen has become accustomed toremaining upon the nest the door is released, so she may have freeegress and ingress.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In adevice of the character described, an inclosing framework, avertically-movable nest, an arm secured at one end to the nest andhaving its opposite end movably connected to the framework, a tiltingplatform mounted independently of the nest, and supporting-armsprojecting in the rear of vthe platform and beneath the nest.

2. In combination, Van inclosing framework having a door-opening, anest, an arm secured at one end to the nest and having its opposite endloosely and detachably connected with the framework, a tilting platformmounted 9 ends extended beneath the nest and terminat- Y ing in rests,and a door applied to the front end of the platform for closing theaforesaid dooropening when the nest is depressed.

3. An inclosing structure of open framework having a door-opening in itsfront and a door-controlled opening in its top side, a nest locatedbelow the door-controlled opening in the top of the structure, an armprojecting from the nest and having loose and detachable connection withthe framework, longitudinal sills having their rear ends reduced to formarms which project beneath the nest and terminate in rounded rests, across-beam applied to the sills and obtaining bearings at its ends innotches in transversely-aiming slats of the framework, a platformapplied to the front end portion of the longitudinal sills, and a boxapplied to the platform, the front wall of the boX forming a door forthe opening in the front of the structure, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Jox-1N w. nAYs. [1.. s]

Witnesses:

J. I-I. ROLLINs, J. H. MARKWELL.

ICO

